Method and apparatus for reeling flexible sheet material



p 1969 F. H. MILLIGAN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REELING FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 6, 1967 Sept. 16, 1969 F. H. MILLIGAN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REELING FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 6, 1967 Irma n p 1969 F. H. MILLIGAN 3,467,335

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REELING FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 6, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 A va/v70? Fee'are/cz/r. Mamm Sept. 16, 1969 F. H. MILLIGAN 3,467,335

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEELING FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 6, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

hvwwrae Fplplp/czm Mu 4/444 lrraxwn United States Patent 3,467,335 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REELING FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL Frederick H. Milligan, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia,

Canada, assignor to Crown Zellerbach Canada Limited,

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a corporation of British Columbia Filed Sept. 6, 1967, Ser. No, 667,322 Int. Cl. B65h 17/02 U.S. Cl. 242-671 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A spring-loaded guide coil extending between web transporting belts and in contact with a major portion of the circumference of a roll being formed whereby sheets of material are guided from the transporting belts onto the roll. A tension band is provided parallel to the guide coil having one end secured to the outer free end of the guide coil. The opposite end of the guide coil is fixed to a storage wheel and the corresponding end of the tension band is movably connected to the storage wheel such that the end of the tension band may be moved relative to the end of the guide coil by means of a hydraulic cylinder mounted in the storage wheel. When the end of the tension band is so moved, the tension band is placed in a state of tension, forcing the guide coil to assume a greater radius of curvature thereby causing it to move out of surface contact with the roll being formed. The guide coil is then in position to be Wound upon the surface of the storage wheel by rotating the storage wheel about its axis thus facilitating the removal of the completed roll of material and replacing it with an empty spool upon which the next roll is to be formed. The process is reversed to place the guide coil in contact with the empty spool before starting the new roll.

Background of the invention This invention relates to a means for picking up the end of a moving web of material such as paper, fabric, film, metal foil etc., and guiding it to form a roll. It is particularly adapted for the reeling of sheets of soft wood veneer.

The forming of substantially continuous webs of thin, flexible materials into rolls is not new. The accumulation of such materials on a cylindrical spool is a common operation in the manufacture of paper, textiles and certain species of wood in veneer form. In operations of this nature, the spool is rotated by application of torque to a shaft upon which the spool is mounted. The web or sheet material is transported by the pull or Draw exerted by the power driven spool. This, of course, places a tension on the web or sheet of material being reeled and is therefore obviously unsuitable for reeling webs of material such as soft wood veneer which are incapable of stretching or resisting tension exerted thereon during operations of this nature.

Attempts have been made in the past to reel soft wood veneers; however, each attempt, and in every known case, the attempt was unsuccessful and abandoned. Unlike hard woods such as birch or mahogany, soft woods with their typically coarse-grained structures are ordinarily capable of withstanding only very low tensile forces in the crossgrain direction. Soft wood veneers are further characterized by numerous small fractures called lathe checks which typically are half the veneer thickness in depth. These characteristic weaknesses together with such defects as splits and checks in the block from which the veneer is peeled often make a web of soft Wood veneer incapable of supporting its own weight. In fact, the Web frequently 3,467,335 Patented Sept. 16, 1969 separates completely as it is peeled from the block or log. Therefore, without a means of support, as is the case with center wind systems as described above, the broken veneer sheet will fall from the reel and loss of wood will result.

Therefore, it is a primary object of my invention to provide apparatus to form webs of thin, flexible materials into rolls without subjecting the materials to appreciable tension.

A further object of my invention is to provide support for the materials being reeled from the point at which it is peeled from the log until it is formed into a roll.

A further object of my invention is to provide means for picking up the leading edges of moving webs or discontinuous ribbons of material and guiding them onto a roll-forming spool.

A further object is to provide a means for controlling both the length and curvature of the guide to accommodate the change in the size of the roll as the diameter of the roll increases with the accumulation of material being rolled.

A further object is the provision of means for retracting the guide means to facilitate removal of the completed roll of material and to replace it with an empty spool upon which the next roll is to be formed.

Summary This invention solves the problems and meets the objectives stated above by extending guide means between web transporting belts and into contact with a major portion of the circumference of the roll being formed. The transporting belts both transport the web and support it during movement between the lathe and reeling station. Therefore, any strips of veneer that are severed from the web will be guided onto the roll with larger pieces.

As it is necessary that the guide means contacts a suftficient portion of the circumference of the roll being formed to guide material thereon, means has been provided for varying the length of the guide means as the diameter of the roll increases with the accumulation of material on the roll. The length control means also allows the guide means to be retracted to facilitate removal of the completed roll and to replace it with an empty spool upon which the next roll is to be formed.

Curvature control means has been provided to remove the guide means from surface contact with the roll being formed preparatory to retracting or extending it.

The curvature control means comprises a guide coil, having an inherent spring characteristic, fixed at one end to a rotatable storage wheel and free at its other end. A tension band is mounted parallel to the guide coil and fixed to the guide coil at its outer free end. The opposite end of the tension band is movably connected to the storage wheel. When the inner end of the tension band is moved longitudinally with respect to the end of the guide coil, the component of the resulting tensile force in the tension band normal to the tangent of the guide coil at its outer free end counteracts the spring characteristic of the coil and increases its radius of curvature. The result is that the guide coil is disengaged from the circumference of the roll of material, and is positioned to be retracted through operation of the length control means as will be hereinafter described.

The length control means comprises a storage wheel to which the inner ends of both the guide coil and tension band are connected, the storage Wheel being mounted for rotation about its axis. When tensile stress has been applied to the tension band, thus increasing the radius of curvature of the guide coil and disengaging it from the circumference of the roll of material, the guide coil may be retracted by rotating the storage wheel about its axis tending to roll the guide means thereon. Once the guide means has been retracted the completed roll maybe removed from its mountings in any convenient manner and replaced with an empty spool. The storage wheel is then rotated to increase the length of the guide means and the tension relieved from the tension band thus allowing the guide coil to contact or engage the circumference of the spool through the force of its inherent spring characteristic. As material is added to the roll and its diameter increases, the storage wheel is rotated to increase the length of the guide means such that it will contact a suflicient portion of the circumference of the roll being formed in order to properly guide the material thereon.

Thus, the apparatus may be used in conjunction with a wide variety of winding or reeling apparatus and is particularly well suited to the reeling of webs or sheets of fragile materials unable to withstand tension.

Brief description of the drawing FIGURE 1 is a schematic, isometric view showing the guide assembly in relation to a reeling mechanism as a roll is being formed.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown partly in section.

FIGURE 3 is a section taken on lines 33 of FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary section through the storage wheel and housing, taken on lines 4-4 of FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the guide coil curvature controlling mechanism.

FIGURE 6 is a plan view in section taken along lines 66 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURES 7-9 comprise a series of schematic diagrams showing the invention in stepped operation.

Detailed description Referring now to FIGURE 1, the invention basically comprises transporting belts 8 to convey sheet material 9 to roll-forming guide means designed generally by reference numeral 10, a rotatable storage wheel 60 and a curvature controlling mechanism 29' mounted within wheel 60 as shown in FIGURE 2.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, guide means 10 comprises a guide coil 11 having an inherent spring characteristic. It is preferred that the guide coil be fabricated from steel, but fiber glass, plastic or materials with similar properties may be used. The spring characteristic forces the coil into a circular configuration of a diameter somewhat less than the diameter of the spool on which the roll is to be formed when the coil is in an unstressed condition. Tension band 12 is positioned parallel to guide coil 11 and secured thereto at its outer free end. The preferred embodiment of tension band 12 is in the nature of a metal strap or band; however, any embodiment which will stand tensile stress may be used, e.g., a cable. As shown in FIGURE 3, tension band 12 is spaced from guide coil 11 by a distance equal to the width of spacer 13. Spacer 13 may be of leather or other flexible materials capable of yielding readily to the change in curvature of guide coil 11 but capable of resisting the compressive forces developed between guide coil 11 and tension band 12. Spacer 13 is secured to tension band 12 near the outer free end to hold spacer 13 in place. Friction between spacer 13 and the surfaces of guide coil 11 and tension band 12 are minimized by means of a lubricant or preferably by providing a film of polytetrafluoroethylene 14 to both broad surfaces of spacer 13. It is also conceived that rollers may be substituted in place of the prefrred leather strip to provide a friction-free spacer between the tension band 12 and guide coil 11.

The inner end of guide coil 11 is secured to storage wheel 60 at 43 (see FIG. 5) and the corresponding end of tension band 12 is secured to movable tension arm 30 at 40 for reasons to be hereinafter explained.

The relative width of guide coil 11 and tension band 12 is a matter of choice; however, tension band 12 should permit the natural tendency of the spring characteristic of guide coil 11 to return the guide coil to its natural state as tension is released from tension band 12. It follows that if tension band 12 is of the same gauge metal and the same temper as guide coil 11, then tension band 12 must have a lesser width than guide coil 11.

The inner surface of guide coil 11 may be provided with a suitable lubricant 15 (see FIGS. 3 and 4), preferably polytetrafluoroethylene to minimize the friction between the wearing surface of the guide coil and the sheet material being rolled.

Storage wheel 60 is provided with a chamber 28 adapted to accommodate a mechanism 29 for controlling the curvature of the guide means 10. Basically, the curvature controlling mechanism 29 comprises a hydraulic cylinder 32 (see FIGS. 2 and 5) with hydraulic actuator ram 36 pivotally connected at 35 to adjustable links 33 and 34. Adjustable link 33 is pivotally connected at its outer end to tension arm 30 at 37 and adjustable link 34 is pivotally connected at its outer end to storage wheel 60 at 38. Tension arm guide 42 (see FIG. 5) is secured to storage wheel 60 and spans the chamber 28.

As indicated previously, guide coil 11 is secured to tension arm guide 42 at 43 by an appropriate fastener, thus fixing guide coil 11 relative to storage wheel 60. Also as indicated previously, the corresponding end of tension band 12 is secured to the outer end of tension arm 30 at 40 by an appropriate fastener, the inner end of tension arm 30 being pivotally connected to storage wheel 60 at 31. Thus, it will be noted that when hydraulic cylinder 32 is activated and deactivated, hydraulic actuator ram 36 will move toward and away from the outer periphery of chamber 28, thus moving the outer end of tension arm 30 back and forth in the plane of storage wheel 60. It will be noted that the upper end of tension arm 30 moves within slot 39 (see FIG. 6) in tension arm guide 42.

As guide coil 11 is secured at its inner end to storage wheel 60 and the corresponding end of tension band 12 is movable relative to storage wheel 60, it follows that the inner end of tension band 12 is movable relative to the corresponding end of guide coil 11. When the hydraulic cylinder 32 is activated, hydraulic actuator ram 36 moves outwardly toward the periphery of storage wheel 60, thus tending to bring adjustable links 33 and 34 into alignment. This causes the upper end of tension arm 30 to move leftwardly as shown in FIGURE 5, thus moving the end of tension band 12 away from the corresponding end of guide coil 11. This, of course, results in placing the tension band 12 in a tensile stressed condition. As the outer free end of tension band 12 is secured to the outer free end of guide coil 11 and is spaced therefrom by distance equal to the width of spacer 13, the component of the tensile force normal to the tangent of guide coil 11 at its outer free end tends to counteract the inherent spring characteristic of the guide coil 11 and thus lengthens the radius of curvature of the coil and forces it away from the surface of the roll of material as shown in FIGURE 8. The spacer 13 between the tension band 12 and guide coil 11 is not absolutely necessary; however, it considerably reduces the force that must be applied to the band to increase the radius of curvature of the coil.

It is also conceived that other means may be substituted for the hydraulic cylinder such as a motor-driven tensioning screw.

Tension arm 30 may be replaced with a leaf-spring member fixed at one end to the storage wheel and connected at its other end to tension band 12, in such manner to constantly urge the tension band leftwardly as shown in FIGURE 5. This will serve to remove all slack from the tension band 12.

As it is necessary that the guide means cover a sufiicient portion of the circumference of the roll being formed such that broken fragments of material will be guided onto the roll, it is necessary that means be provided whereby the length of the guide coil may be varied depending upon the diameter of the roll being formed at any particular instant. For this purpose, storage wheel 60 (see FIGURE 2) has been provided and is rotatably mounted on center shaft 61 in an appropriate manner such as by mount 62. The storage wheel 60 rotates inside fixed housing 66 which may, if desired, fully enclose storage wheel 60 to provide protection for the curvature controlling mechanism from dirt, debris, etc.

As the inner end of guide coil 11 is secured to the peripher'y of storage wheel 60, the length of guide coil available for contact with the circumference of roll 2 is varied by rotating the storage wheel 60 about its axis. The storage wheel may be rotated in any appropriate manner such as by power applied to center shaft 61; however, it has been found expedient to provide storage wheel 60 with a ring gear 65 (see FIG. 2) through which rotational movement is transferred to storage wheel 60 from pinion 64 on power shaft 63.

To guide the guide means 10 as it is rolled onto or played out from storage wheel 60, guide coil sleeve 67 has been provided. Guide coil sleeve 67, as will be noted, has been secured to housing 66 through an appropriate brace 69. Referring now to FIGURE 3, the guide coil sleeve 67 is comprised of top wall 71, bottom wall 72 and side walls 73 which are secured together in an appropriate manner such as by fasteners 74. It will be noted that the top, bottom and side wall members of sleeve 67 define a longitudinal groove 75 conforming substantially to the configuration of the guide means .and through which guide means 10 slides. The sleeve 67 is secured at its inner end to housing 66 in such a manner that curvature of the inside top surface of the sleeve on which guide coil 11 slides is tangent to the corresponding surface of storage wheel 60.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, storage wheel housing 66 has a groove 69 in its inner surface. Storage wheel 60 has a corresponding groove 70 in its outer periphery. Grooves 69 in storage wheel housing 66 and 70 in the storage wheel 60 thus cooperate to provide an aperture 99 conforming to the shape of guide means 10 and groove 75 (see FIG. 3) in sleeve 67. It will also be noted that because sleeve 67 is mounted tangent to the outer periphcry of storage wheel 60 groove 75 in sleeve 67 is contiguous with the aperture 99 in storage wheel 60 to provide a smooth transition as the guide means passes from the sleeve 67 onto the storage wheel 60.

Coil spring 76 connected to sleeve arm 67 and to the supporting framework of the apparatus depicted schematically by fragmentary support 77 in FIGURE 1, biases sleeve arm 67 toward the roll being formed in such a manner to assure contact betwen guide means 10 and roll 2 as the diameter of the roll is varied. This feature is not critical, however, and the guide means can be mounted independently of the frame of the reeling means.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, it will be noted that the storage wheel is mounted so as not to interfere with the travel of the web of sheet material 9 along conveyer belts 8. As shown, conveyer belts 8 pass over pulleys 7 mounted on shaft 6 which transfer motion to biasing belts through pulleys 3. It will be noted that because guide means passes betwen belts 5 the sheet material 9 will be picked up from the belts and guided on to roll 2. Shafts 4 and 6 may be movable in a vertical direction to maintain a proper biasing force between belts 5 and roll 2. Biasing force may be provided through the vertical movement of either shaft 4 or 6 individually or both together.

Because belts 5 are in surface contact wtih the roll being formed, the belts may be used to rotate the roll thereby dispensing with the necessity of providing power to the shaft on which spool 1 is mounted. As the roll is thereby driven at the same speed as the belts 5, the webs of material are not subject to severing tension and will therefore remain in web form.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, and as mentioned above, webs 9 are transported toward spool 1 on generally horizontal conveyer belts 8. As the webs are so transported, movement of air along the undersurface of the web creates a lift which tends to raise the web from the conveyer belts 8. Thus, deflector 16 has been provided at the outer free end of guide coil 11. Deflector 16 is comprised of a short, straight, strip of rigid material connected to the free end of guide coil 11 and is inclined at an acute angle to the plane of conveyer belts 8 when the guide coil is in position for reeling. Deflector 16 thus deflects the leading edge of strips of sheet material into contact with biasing belts 5 in order to prevent jam-ups of material at the reeling station.

Referring now to schematic FIGURES 7 to 9, the operation of the roll-forming apparatus will be described. The process begins with hydraulic cylinder 32 in an actuated condition (see FIGURE 9) thus placing tension band 12 in a condition of tension and lengthens the radius of curvature of guide coil 11. Storage wheel 60 has then been rotated in a counterclockwise direction, thus pulling guide means 10 back within sleeve 67. The roll-forming cycle begins by placing an empty spool 1, on which the roll is to be formed, in position on appropriate mounts. The storage wheel is then rotated in a clockwise direction, thus playing out guide means 10. When a sufficient length of guide means 10 is played out, the hydraulic cylinder 32 is deactivated, which releases the tension from tension band 12 and allows spring-loaded guide coil 11 to return to its natural state, i.e., tightly encircling spool 1.

As guide means 10 is now in place upon spool 1, the material to be rolled may be. conveyed toward the rollforming apparatus by appropriate means such as that depicted in FIGURE 1, resulting in a roll being built upon spool 1. As the size of the roll increases, storage wheel 60 is then rotated in a clockwise direction and will always maintain a suflicient portion of the circumference of the roll being formed in contact with the guide means.

FIGURE 7 represents the apparatus in operation having a roll 2 with suflicient diameter formed thereon. To remove the completed roll, the process is reversed. It will be noted that the hydraulic cylinder is in a deactivated condition in FIGURE 7 as the roll is completed and the material conveyers stop. Referring now to FIGURE 8, the hydraulic cylinder has been activated imparting tension to tension band 12 and thus increasing the radius of curvature of guide coil 11. Once the radius of curvature of guide coil 11 is increased and the guide means disengaged from the roll being formed, it is thereby in position to allow storage wheel 60 to be rotated in a counter-clockwise manner thus pulling the guide means back inside the sleeve 67 as shown in FIGURE 9. Roll 2 may now be removed by any appropriate means and replaced with an empty spool such that the cycle can be repeated.

To accommodate sheets of veneer of greater width, a plurality of web reeling devices as disclosed may be provided in side by side relationship.

An embodiment of the present invention has been set forth and detailed for purposes of making a complete disclosure thereof; however, numerous modifications will occur to one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for reeling flexible sheet material, comprising:

(a) a spool mounted for rotation about its axis;

(b) at least one endless belt for supportably transporting sheet material to a position adjacent the surface of said spool such that the sheet material is not subjected to tension during transportation;

(c) means for rotating said spool at a rate corresponding to the speed of said transporting means;

(d) a support member mounted adjacent said endless belt; and

(e) a guide coil having an inherent spring characteristic, said guide coil having a first end connected to said support member and a second free end, the guide coil adapted to engage a substantial portion of the circumference of said spool through the force of the spring characteristic of said coil such that material will be guided from the transporting means onto said spool.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising means for increasing the radius of curvature of said guide coil such that it will disengage from a substantial portion of the circumference of said spool to enable said spool to be replaced.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said means for increasing the radius of curvature of said guide coil compr1ses:

(a) a tension band having a first end fixed to the free end portion of said guide coil and a second end movably connected to said support member; and

(b) means for moving the second end of said tension band with respect to said support member such that the radius of curvature of said guide coil is increased.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said means for moving the second end of said tension band comprises a hydraulic cylinder having a ram, said hydraulic cylinder being mounted on said support member, the ram of said hydraulic cylinder being connected to the second end of said tension band such that activation of said hydraulic cylinder causes the radius of curvature of said guide coil to increase.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said support member is adapted for varying the length of said guide coil.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said support member comprises:

(a) a storage wheel mounted for rotation about its axis;

and

(b) means to rotate said storage wheel whereby the guide coil may be wound thereon or played out therefrom.

7. Apparatus for guiding flexible sheet material from an endless transporting belt onto a spool, comprising:

(a) a supporting member;

(b) a guide coil having an inherent spring characteristic, said guide coil fixed at a first end to said supporting member and having a free second end portion;

(c) a tension band having a first end fixed to the free end of said guide coil and having a second end movably connected to said supporting member; and

(d) means for moving the second end of said tension band with respect to the first end of said guide coil such that the radius of curvature of the free end portion of said guide coil is increased.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the means for moving the first end of said tension band comprises a hydraulic cylinder connected at one end to said supporting member and at the other end to the first end of said tension band.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said means for moving the first end of said tension band comprises:

(a) a tension arm having a first end connected to said supporting member, and a second end connected to the first end of said tension band;

(b) a hydraulic cylinder having a ram, said cylinder connected to said supporting member; and

(c) a pair of connecting links, a first of said links pivotally connected at one end to said supporting member and at the other end to said hydraulic ram, and a second of said links pivotally connected at one end to said tension arm and at the other end to said hydraulic ram such that the activation of said hydraulic cylinder causes the radius of curvature of the free end portion of said guide coil to increase.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein:

(a) said supporting member comprises a storage wheel mounted for rotation about its axis; and

(b) means for rotating said storage wheel whereby said guide coil may be wound thereon or played out therefrom.

11. In a method for reeling flexible sheets of material wherein the sheet material is transported to a reeling station by an endless belt and then wound on a spool, the improvement comprising:

(a) providing a retractable guide coil having an inherent spring characteristic fixed at one end to a support member adjacent said endless belt and having a second end free, the guide coil contacting said spool over a substantial portion of its circumference;

(b) guiding said material from said endless belt onto said spool with the guide coil; and

(c) increasing the length of said guide coil as the diameter of the roll of material increases so that a substantial portion of the circumference of the roll will be in contact with theguide coil as the roll is built 12. Apparatus for reeling flexible sheet material, comprising:

(a) a spool mounted for rotation about its axis;

(b) means for supportably transporting sheet material to a position adjacent the surface of said spool such that the material is not subjected to tension during transportation;

(0) means for rotating said spool at a rate corresponding to the speed of said transporting means;

((1) a support member mounted adjacent said trans,-

porting means; and

(e) a guide coil having a first end connected to said support member and a second free end, the guide coil adapted to engage a substantial portion of the periphery of said spool such that sheet material will be guided from said transporting means onto said spool.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,959,418 5/1934 Fourness 24267.1X 2,957,288 10/1960 Anderson 24255.1 X

LEONARD D. CHRISTIAN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

